‘Dear You’ Director Credits Overseas Chinese Letter-Writing Tradition for Sleeper Hit’s Emotional Power
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- "Dear You" has earned more than $255 million at the Chinese box office since its May opening and holds a 9.3 rating on Douban, making it one of China's most-discussed films of the year.
- Lan Hongchun spoke at the 28th Shanghai International Film Festival's "Cultural Roots, Localized Narratives, and Emotional Resonance in Contemporary Chinese Cinema" forum, where he credited qiaopi's cultural memory for the film's resonance.
- Lan said audience reaction ran deeper than plot: "What moved audiences was not only the story itself, but also the cultural memory carried by qiaopi and by generations of ordinary people."
- Lan traced his instinct for place-rooted storytelling to Taiwan filmmaker Hou Hsiao-hsien, saying Hou's films showed him "that stories from our own land, our own people and our own memories can also become cinema."
- Damai Entertainment backed the film, with vice president Xie Ying noting the company's relationship with Lan began roughly five years before release, predating the project.
Why it matters: A $255 million gross and 9.3 Douban rating — blockbuster numbers for a film rooted in the niche qiaopi tradition — validate Damai Entertainment's five-year bet on director Lan Hongchun and prove that culturally specific, diasporic-memory storytelling can match mainstream commercial appeal in China's theatrical market.
